FISHERIES & AQUATIC LIFE (2021) 29: 100 - 107 Archives of Polish Fisheries DOI 10.2478/aopf-2021-0012 RESEARCH ARTICLE Some population characteristics of Oxynoemacheilus angorae (Steindachner, 1897) from the Perºembe Plateau meandering streams in Ordu, Turkey Serdar Yedier, Derya Bostanci, Nazmi Polat Received – 19 January 2021/Accepted – 21 June 2021. Published online: 30 June 2021; ©Inland Fisheries Institute in Olsztyn, Poland Citation: Yedier, S., Bostanci, D., Polat, N. (2021). Some population characteristics of Oxynoemacheilus angorae (Steindachner, 1897) from the Perºembe Plateau meandering streams in Ordu, Turkey. Fisheries Aquatic & Life, 29, 100-107 Abstract. The aim of the current study was to determine the condition factor value of O. angorae was 0.9954. This value length-weight relationship (LWR) and length-length could have indicated that this species was encountering some relationship (LLR) with condition factor (K) values for problems in this habitat. The O. angorae parameters Oxynoemacheilus angorae from the Perºembe Plateau determined were the first data reported for the Perºembe meandering streams in Ordu, Turkey. A total of 65 fish Plateau meandering streams in Ordu, Turkey (Middle Black specimens, which were caught with electrofishing gear, were Sea Region). examined. Fish standard length (SL), fork length (FL), total length (TL), and body weight (W) were determined. There Keywords: Length-weight relationship, length-length were no statistical differences between the measurements of relationship, growth, condition factor, Middle Black Sea male and female O. angorae specimens; therefore, the female Region and male specimens were evaluated together in the current study. The LWR equation and determination coefficient of O. angorae were W = 0.014 TL2.7359 (r2 = 0.9659). The 95% confidence interval of the b value for the O. angorae Introduction specimens from the Perºembe Plateau meandering streams was 2.7261 to 2.7435. In the present study, it was determined Length-length (LLR) and length-weight (LWR) rela- that O. angorae specimens showed negative allometric tionships of fish species are important in fisheries growth. Calculations of O. angorae TL-SL, TL-FL, and FL-SL and fish biology (YÈlmaz and Polat 2011). They per- relationship equations and determination coefficients were as follows: TL = 0.2091+1.1646 SL, (r2 = 0.986); TL = mit estimating the body weight of fish from total 0.1341+1.0301 FL (r2 = 0.9914); and FL = 0.0998+1.1261 length and the total length of fish from standard SL, (r2 = 0.9868), respectively. A new maximum total length length by establishing mathematical relationships was recorded for O. angorae in this study. The average among these variables (Sarkar et al. 2008). More- over, LWR and LLR relationships are also used to as- S. Yedier [+], D. Bostanci sess fish stocks, and they provide information on the Ordu University, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, 52200 Ordu-Turkey growth status of fish species in different habitats E-mail: [email protected] (YÈlmaz et al. 2010). The condition factor is one of the N. Polat most important parameters related to fish body Ondokuz MaýÈs University, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, 55139 shape, and this parameter can provide information Samsun-Turkey about the development of fish species in different © Copyright by Stanis³aw Sakowicz Inland Fisheries Institute in Olsztyn. © 2021 Author(s). This is an open access article licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/). 101 Serdar Yedier et al. habitats (Froese 2006). In this way, researchers can Materials and methods compare fish populations belonging to the same spe- cies in different habitats based on condition factors. The Perºembe Plateau is one of the tourism centers of Thus, data on the impact of habitat differences on the Ordu Province, Turkey, with unique meandering fish can be provided (Yedier et al. 2019). streams located at an altitude of 1,500 meters, which Angorae loach, Oxynoemacheilus angorae,is are some of the best examples of meanders in the a member of the family Nemacheilidae. This species country. Sampling was conducted in six of these me- is widespread from Jordan to Turkey (Froese and andering streams on the Perºembe Plateau, and O. Pauly 2020). O. angorae is one of the native freshwa- angorae specimens were caught with ter fish species in Turkish ichthyofauna. Moreover, a Samus-725MS (Fig. 1). The body weight (W) of the the species is distributed in both lentic and lotic habi- fish specimens was recorded to the nearest 0.01 g tats in Turkey. The conservation status of the species and standard length (SL), fork length (FL), and total on the IUCN Red List is that of least concern (LC) length (TL) were measured to the nearest 0.1 cm (Fig. (Freyhof 2014). The problems caused by 2). The length-weight relationship of O. angorae eutrophication, contamination, and decreases in wa- ter levels from dam construction are the most impor- tant factors endangering the species (Froese and Pauly 2020). There are few studies in the literature on the length-length and the length-weight relation- ships with condition factor of this species from differ- ent aquatic habitats (Golzarianpour et al. 2011, Hasankhani et al. 2014). The species was also re- ported in many Turkish inland waters such as BalÈklÈ Stream (Gaygusuz et al. 2013), Söütözü Creek (Erk’akan et al. 2014), KÈlÈçözü Stream (YazÈcÈolu and YazÈcÈ 2016), Kirmir Stream (Zencir and Korkmaz 2016), the KÈzÈlÈrmak River Basin (Birecikligil et al. 2016), and Asartepe Dam Lake (Saylar et al. 2020). There are very few studies on this species compared to other native fish species. Addi- tionally, studies focused on the biology and popula- tion characteristics of this species are quite limited, and there are no studies on the length-length and length-weight relationships with condition factor of O. angorae from Ordu inland waters. Therefore, the main objective of the current study Figure 1. Map of the study area. was to determine the length-length, length-weight re- lationships with condition factor of O. angorae in- habiting the Perºembe Plateau meandering streams in Ordu, Turkey. The current study was the first to be conducted on the length-length and length-weight relationships with condition factor of O. angorae from Ordu inland waters. Figure 2. Oxynoemacheilus angorae specimens caught during sampling. Some population characteristics of Oxynoemacheilus angorae (Steindachner, 1897) from... 102 Table 1 Descriptive statistics of morphometric measurements of Oxynoemacheilus angorae from the Perºembe Plateau meandering streams in Ordu, Turkey Coefficient of Morphometric measurements n Mean ± SE SD min max variation % Body weight (g) 65 3.41±0.164 1.324 1.20 7.51 38.80 Total length (cm) 7.34±0.123 0.994 5.3 10.0 13.55 Fork length (cm) 6.99±0.119 0.961 5.1 9.6 13.74 Standard length (cm) 6.13±0.105 0.848 4.4 8.4 13.85 n: sample size; SE: standard error; min and max: minimum and maximum values, respectively. inhabiting these streams was calculated with the weight of the species was 3.41 ± 0.164 g (Table 1). In equationW=aLb, where W is fish body weight (g), L the present study, the largest total length was 10.0 is fish total length (cm), b is the slope, and a is the in- cm and the smallest total length was 5.3 cm. Among tercept (Bagenal and Tesch 1978). The b-values ob- the morphometric measurements identified in the tained from the length-weight relationship were present study, weight had the highest coefficient of tested using the t-test, and these results concerning b variation, while total length had the lowest (Table 1). values were used when determining the growth type Female and male individuals were evaluated to- gether because there was no difference between their of this species. A 95% confidence interval (95% CI) of length or weight measurements (t-test; P > 0.05). the b value was also calculated for the O. angorae Total length and fish weight frequency distribu- specimens caught. The linear regression model y = tions were also determined for the O. angorae speci- a ± bx was used to determine the TL-SL, TL-FL, and mens (Fig. 3). The total length-weight relationship FL-SL relationships. The quality of the linear regres- 2.7359 2 was determined as W = 0.014TL (r = 0.9659) sion model was evaluated using the determination in all O. angorae specimens, and these results are 2 coefficient (r ) for O. angorae specimens. Fulton’s presented in Figure 4. There was a strong relation- condition factor (K) was calculated with the following ship between the length and the weight values of the 3 equation: K = 100*(W/L ), where W is fish body O. angorae specimens with a 95% confidence interval weight (g), and L is fish total length (cm) (Ricker of b that ranged from 2.7261 to 2.7435. The 1975). Minitab 16 was used for all statistical analy- length-length relationship showed that standard ses. length, fork length, and total length were highly cor- related with one another (Fig. 5). The TL-FL, TL-SL, and FL-SL relationship equations with the determi- Results nation coefficient for O. angorae were TL = 0.1341 + 1.0301 FL; (r2 = 0.9914), TL = 0.2091 + 1.1646 SL; (r2 = 0.986), and FL = 0.0998 + 1.1261 SL;(r2 = In the current study, a total of 65 individuals were 0.9868), respectively (Fig. 5). In the present study, captured with electrofishing gear of which 37 the minimum and maximum condition factors of O. (56.92%) were female and 28 (43.08%) were male. angorae specimens from the Perºembe Plateau me- The O. angorae specimen weights (W) ranged from andering streams were 0.7012 and 1.0272, respec- 1.20 g to 7.51 g, and standard length (SL), fork tively, and the mean condition factor calculated was length (FL), and total length (TL) ranged between 0.8295 ± 0.0079.